Richmond: Dog, councilman's sheep saved from cliff

RICHMOND

Published 4:00 am, Thursday, February 3, 2011

Peter Pan, second sheep from left, was chased over a cliff by a dog Feb. 1 and had to be rescued by Richmond firefighters.

Peter Pan, second sheep from left, was chased over a cliff by a dog Feb. 1 and had to be rescued by Richmond firefighters.

Photo: Courtesy Of Tom Butt

Richmond: Dog, councilman's sheep saved from cliff

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It was shear madness along the Richmond shoreline Tuesday evening. Sparkle the dog had chased Peter Pan, a sheep belonging to Richmond City Councilman Tom Butt, out of a pasture and over a 300-foot cliff, where ovine and canine promptly became stranded.

"The dog and sheep, who were shortly before chaser and chasee, found themselves reluctant buddies stranded a few feet apart on a ledge," Butt wrote to his constituents Wednesday in an e-mail.

Richmond firefighters converged on the scene and rappelled down the cliff. Sparkle, a black Labrador retriever, seemed eager to be rescued and was quickly scooped up. But Peter Pan went on the lam for a few tense moments, skittering away from rescuers a couple of times.

Finally, the sheep was snatched. All's wool that ends wool.

Butt said he keeps three goats and two sheep on his property in the Point Richmond hills to munch on the fire-hazard brush. Dogs have occasionally gotten into his pasture, resulting in "great tragedy for the grazing animals," Butt said.

But at 4 p.m. Tuesday, the Richmond Fire Department notified Butt that this time, a young dog and one of his sheep had gone over a cliff overlooking Canal Boulevard. Both were alive but were perched precariously on the precipice, about halfway down.

"The chase was over for the dog, and fear had set in for both animals," Butt said. "If it had been a goat, it would have been a different story. A cliff to a goat is like a briar patch to a rabbit. Sheep are not as sure-footed and not nearly as smart."

A woman who knew Sparkle's owner tried to rescue the dog, but realized that the terrain was unforgiving, Butt said.

Butt had to leave for a City Council meeting as firefighters began rappelling down the cliff. But he was able to watch the final rescue - both animals were lowered down the cliff on harnesses - at 7:30 p.m. from a monitor at the council dais.

Peter Pan was safe at home Wednesday with his sheepmate, Tinker Bell.

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